Bob Ford: Triple Crown must change before more horses are sacrificed

by | 06.11.2012 | 7:27am
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Bob Ford writes at Philly.com about the fragility of the thoroughbred and how the Triple Crown is exploiting these animals and pushing them to limits that lead to injuries and death. Ford begins with the story of Giant Ryan, a 6-year-old sprinter who broke down in the True North on the Belmont Stakes undercard. The horse was able to walk into an ambulance and may now undergo surgery.  The anatomy of a horse makes it delicate as it’s carrying thousands of pounds on a “suspension system more built for a ballerina.”

Ford writes: “We see it every year in the Triple Crown chase. Horses break down, or they develop physical issues that lead to their retirement. This season, I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but was scratched from the Belmont on Friday because the pace of racing and training left him with inflammation in his left foreleg that wouldn’t go away.”

It is too much to ask a 3-year-old, who are “little more than teenagers” in their development to run three hard races in just five weeks. Ford writes it is inhumane to ask for such an effort from such a young horse. He believes a change needs to be made. Either space the races out farther, or make them for 4-year olds. He also believes artificial insemination would keep racehorses on the track longer.

When it comes to the Triple Crown as it is now, Ford writes: “At some point, the sport of horse racing has to make a change. Not because there will never be another Triple Crown winner. Some horse will beat the odds and get it done eventually. But because of all the horses that are sacrificed trying to find that one horse, and all the casual fans who are driven away because the stars of the sport are never more than supernovas that flash quickly and disappear, either into the breeding shed or the track ambulance.”

» Read more at Philly.com
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  • slimmy28

    It’s hard to take this story seriously when he is making a case for the health of 3 year olds but yet cites an injury to a 6 year old. 

  • http://Bellwether4u.com James Staples

    the ONLY CHANGE needed is the reduction of Horses that run in the Derby…ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION is out of the question…we would get out of ”THE GAME” if that came about…PERIOD…ty…  

  • Munda

    Maybe we should go back to the way we use to breed horses.  Get away from speed speed speed and how they will look at the sales as well as breeding 185 + mares to one stallion!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/GN75TMMTTZCDAKCKWH4QH6RDYQ Ronald T

    Maybe what needs to change is the level of horsemanship and have some of these horses trained by real trainers and not the “car salesman” types who are excellent at self promotion but maybe not so good at “hands on”…..Big money owners give most of the well bred horses to these guys who are the current flavor of the month and when they break down the owner says “why me”….well look in the mirror…maybe YOU should have done your homework…..This type of owner has a new nickname….They’re now known as “star F###ers”….

  • Cepatton28

    I agree there should be less starters in the Derby.  I personally am in favor of AI as long as the Jockey club would only allow 100 foals per year strictly for the safety of the stallion and the mare.

  • WILLIAM L. ANTON

    I have to agree with you in many ways. However, one thing is for sure. Getting to the triple crown is a tough gruling act. Then only two weeks between the Derby and the Preekness is too short. Did you see the effort it took for IHA put out in both races, especially the finish in Baltimore, then to return (which he did’t) for a one and a half mile run in N.Y.  Why do think Union Rags was what he was at the finish in Belmont. Proper rest!! NO???? Yes, not enough time between these races.

  • Barney Door

    The JC doesn’t limit live cover so it is doubtful they would permit or limit AI.  Good idea though. 

    Getting a three year old to the Triple Crown is a culling process utilizing Darwinist training methods. As long as the goal merits and the system allows the practices will continue with the same results.

    There is little or no financial incentive for change.  Until that occurs, good ideas will just be good intentions.

  • Bryan Langlois (ShelterDoc)

    What happened to the days of “fact checking” stories before writing them.  This guy Ford could not be more wrong in any of his assumptions or statements.  He is using the breakdown of a 6 year old as evidence for the Triple Crown to be changed??  That makes no sense.  In addition, for any person who watched the replay of the race, the horse did not fall just 2 strides after breaking down.  It happened at least a good 100 yards before that and Martinez was doing his best to pull him up quickly but safely.  This kind of thing infuriates me.  The Triple Crown is supposed to be hard.  It is supposed to be a grueling test.  Make it too easy to win and it loses all its significance.  I don’t know if Giant Ryan was transferred to New Bolton late last night…but my understanding was they were going to transport him in a day or two. 
     I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I really don’t put a lot of stock or faith in these sports writers who pop up once a year when the Triple Crown is being run and pretend to act like authorities on the sport they know nothing about.  Sadly though, they are the ones that misrepresent things to the public…and then people just believe it because “Well…I saw it in the paper…it has to be true” 

  • Barney Door

     Ditto.

  • Bryan Langlois (ShelterDoc)

    I love that idea, unfortunately, I think the only way that will even remotely happen is through the return of the big racing families, who bred to race and didn’t breed to sell.  Then you had the focus of having sound racehorses that would then pass on that soundness.  The families like the Phipps, Wyehts, and others unfortunately are fading fast in the world of racing.  It is all about quick turnaround of profit these days…

  • Jimculpepper

    Was Ryan ever in a TC race,  and did Ford ever read the race card?  Whatever has gone wrong with thoroughbred breeding and racing, the Triple Crown races are SLOWING the downhill slide by highlighting it and the need for a return to classic methods for classic races. Symptoms are an effect, not a first cause.

  • May Flower

    Talking about screwing with mother nature! The TC should not be downgraded to accommodate the destruction caused by greed and layers of salesmen race horses have to survive in particular pinhooking salesmen, toxic car salesmen, drug salesmen and race-filling salesmen that blackmail car salesmen who need drug salesmen to fill non-stop races with anything they’ve got to run and sell.

    The TC should not be degraded to accommodate mediocrity. Horse racing needs to upgrade itself by choosing to invest in quality, safety, transparency, drug-free sales and racing. Eliminating all drugs (with rare exceptions) one month before selling and racing horses should be first.

  • Ohio Bred Girl

    It’s been interesting to watch the clips of the Triple Crown winners and see how many raced MORE than three times during the Triple Crown stretch.  I’m with those who say it isn’t the horse per se; it’s the breeding and probably the training.  I’ve wondered a long time why the Jockey Club is so careful about names but won’t step in and say, “Sorry, you can breed to that horse who’s known to pass on fragility, but we won’t register him to race.” “Sorry, you can’t crossbreed that close.”  I’ve also wondered how horses in decades past were able to race 9, 10, 11 times as 2yo (Seabiscuit: 35) and keep on going.  The horse’s mechanics and body structure haven’t changed.  What has?  

  • Cepatton28

    The reason the Triple Crown is hard to win these days is the same as the long break before Secretariat won his.   It takes an exceptional horse and a lot of luck the seventies had an overabundance of these.   A winner that is worthy will come when it is time.  

  • MamaKin

    I’m SURE this idea will get LOTS of traction.

  • MamaKin

    I’m not sure whether to feel sorry most owners…..because they’re too green to know any better…..or to feel like they got EXACTLY what THEY….NOT their horses deserve…..because THAT’S what they signed up for!  VERY conflicted about this?

  • MIKE C

    Another person on the stump without a clue. Horses of ALL ages get injured for many reasons. Triple Crown particiapnts no more likely to go bad than any other horse.

  • Ohio Bred Girl

    I would think the opportunity for error would increase with AI.  Bloodlines are verifiable going back hundreds of years.  I’d hate to mess with that.  That said, though, other breeds and disciplines do use AI and also do a FAR superior job of monitoring breeding.  Stallions and mares alike have to pass rigorous tests before they’re certified for breeding, and the book per stallion is limited.  And I’ve love to see no more than 14 starters in the Derby.  It would eliminate a few who don’t belong and give a fairer shot to the rest.

  • tfly

    I blame the buyers Bryan.  The breeders do breed to sell for the most part.  It’s the buyers who keep that foolishness going.  When the horses that sell the best are the ones that open gallop or do an easy 3/8′s, that’s when we’ll get away from these craze 10 second works.

  • Barbara

    The biggest problem facing racing now is a writer like Bob Ford, who obviously is lacking basic common sense, who beats the dark drum and suggests that a six year old horse running back off a more than two month lay off has ANYTHING to do with the targeted and compacted five week schedule for three year olds? Fails to mention that only two of the entrants in the Belmont actually were intended to race in all three events. Favorite was scratched due to severe scrutiny of the sport by inane reporters as much as his tendon, and the other one was a D. Wayne Lukas Optimizer that was only there because guys like Bob Ford showed up for an annual visit, too.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DMVDPXMEECFBB2SRIGKIG5CO3Q John

     Yes, yes, yes. Can we please get back to the fundamentals. Let’s put the money into 4 yo and up going at least a mile and a quarter to get stamina back into the money. Bryan (ShelterDoc) is also dead right about the churn and burn nature of the game and the homebred folks. Unsound, lasix-fortified speedballs that burn out by June of their three year old season is all we are getting. All other things aside would you breed to Curlin or Big Brown if you wanted sound progeny?

  • Ida Lee

    The TC cannot be changed. What then…the previous winners or future winners would have an asterisk after their name noting the TC was won before or after the change? And artificial insemination? I don’t think so. This is what makes a thoroughbred a thoroughbred eligible to race. It’s heartbreaking what happened to Giant Ryan and I’m hoping he’ll have his surgery soon and be just fine. He’ll be getting the best medical care available. I do worry so much about the “superstars”.  They get all the care and attention in the world. It’s the 24 horses a week that have to be euthanized because they’re not important enough to save that I worry about.

  • MamaKin

     If there was an eclipse award for MOST CLUELESS….This guy wins!

  • David

    Perhaps the system (of the TC) hasn’t failed as much as participants (breeders, owners and trainers) have failed the system.  When did it become gospel that precocious, well-bred 2year-olds can only start 2-4 times and at 3 only two preps will be the rule prior to the Derby?  If the methodology adopted in the past 25 years is to be continued, yes, the TC should change.  My question is how and why did we get where we are? 

  • ktq1

    This is so wrong in many ways. 

  • ktq1

    The writer needs to go back and research what has happened in the sport over the past 30 years.  Drugs, auctions putting more focus on looks versus stamina and soundness, 2 yr old in training sales (nothing like running them at a blistering furglong to break them down before they even race), high syndication values overrule actually running long enough to see if they’re sound (began with Secretariat), NY the last hold out on Lasix ended with the loss of Summer Squall in the Belmont and race day drugs increased), the influx of QH trainers beginning with D Wayne, the loss of 1 1/2 mile racing, the list is endless in why horses are breaking down at a much higher rate now, versus when they ran 2 and 3 times as many races as 2 year olds leading up to the TC. 

    I’ve said it and will keep saying it.  There is a greater force that is telling us “we do not deserve a TC”.  Until we initiate real reform (centralized body, actual impacting penalties to drug trainers/owners and instititue a social security system so that everyone is required to pay for after care to the many horses that are the lifeblood of the sport), there will be no TC. 

  • ktq1

    So true. 

  • ktq1

    Many TC winners ran a race inbetween the Preakness and Belmont.  We have destoyed these beautiful animals.

  • wallyhorse

    The only change I would be looking at for the Triple Crown would be to MAYBE move the Preakness and Belmont Stakes back by one week each, except that creates a problem for NBC due to the fact what is currently the weekend following The Belmont Stakes is the weekend of the US Open Golf Championships.  There are precedents for doing that since The Belmont has in the past been on Father’s Day weekend (including when Citation won the Triple Crown in 1948) and prior to 1969, for quite a number of years the Belmont Stakes was only two weeks after the Preakness, with the 1968 running on June 1 (which that year was actually in the middle of Memorial Day weekend) and other runnings actually in late May.  That might be the one move that has to be made, but otherwise, I would leave it as it is.

  • Astop

    Optimizer was the only horse to run in all 3 legs of the Triple Crown.  The only other 
    horse who would have run would have been IHA.  Trainers and owners aren’t running in
    all 3 races unless they are named Lukas or have a chance at a Triple Crown.  So squealing about the inhumanity of the Triple Crown Series is a bit moot, since all those
    involved already take into consideration the rigors of the series.  So, how is it that Bob Ford can accuse Mrs. Wyeth and Michael Matz of being inhumane?  Did Bob Ford talk to
    Michael Matz before he came to the conclusion that Mr. Matz and Mrs. Wyeth are inhumane?  Because that’s Ford’s accusation; Mrs. Wyeth, Mr.Matz, Mr. Zayat, Mr. Baffert, Mr. Romans, Mr. Crawford, Mr. Breen, Mr. & Mrs. Hall, et al are inhumane according to Bob Ford.  

    I hope that Mr. Matz and Mrs. Wyeth have the opportunity at some time to defend themselves against Bob Ford’s criticism that they are inhumane.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nick-Arden/1054071262 Nick Arden

    He probably thinks all race horses are the same age.

  • Lory

    we need to have the “REAL” horseracing journalists confront these once a year wannabes
    when they speak folly. these fellows spout non-sense ans if confronted by experts twist words around to fit their ideas while being taken apart by knowledgeable writers would make them hold their tongue. i think the artificial insemination idea is folly have seen it for QH and not impresses same with cloning . to further streamline the gene pool with a defect that might be a fatal flaw in generations down the road is playing russian roulette.
    i would hope that the industry would start looking for bloodlines with durability rather than the early speed. look for horses that have more bone as well. they may be a slower species but more durable -track records are not a good indicator except over a distance,

  • Triplecrownquest

    Bob Ford…go away.  The industry does not benefit from anything that you write.
     

  • Cepatton28

    DNA testing makes sure the mares are bred to the right stallions.

  • Frank_Reardon

    The stewards have ruled and there will be no changes. Now shut up.

  • ziggypop

     As someone who fell in love with thoroughbreds and racing a child, and drifted away for many years, I am stunned at the lack of evolution in the industry. It is as if it is stuck in a “throw away” horse mentality. From the outside looking in, everyone in the industry is to blame. If one is not part of a better outlook for the horses, one is part of the problem. The breakdowns, and the breeding of so many, with so many leg issues and then the slaughter must be addressed or the only place people will be able to see a “thoroughbred” will be the Kentucky Horse Park.

  • ziggypop

     The industry is it’s own worst enemy, regardless of what anyone writes.

  • http://Bellwether4u.com James Staples

    AMEN…he doesn’t know his @SS from third base…PERIOD…ty

  • http://Bellwether4u.com James Staples

    the churchill circuit was not designed to race twenty Horses @ the same time…to DAMN DANGEROUS for the HORSES…AMEN to U too May Flower!!!…ty…

  • Rachel

    Did he ever read about the racing schedules of all the TC winners?
    Their connections were downright heartless by his standards…he’s got to man-up, geesh.

  • Cliff

    Every year some sportswriter thinks they can match W.C. Heinz and writes another “Death of a Racehorse” piece.
    The thing that worries me most when it comes to all the supposed problems in racing (drugs, too many racetracks, breakdowns) is how more and more news organizations are asking existential questions about the game.
    The end result of those questions isn’t reform or Federal oversight, but the end of racing.
    I’m probably Chicken Little, but unless and until racing people reply to the Bob Fords, Bill Rhodens and Mike Wilpons of the world with a full-throated defense of the game, we are vulnerable when the next Eight Belles-like death happens in a major racing event.

  • Harry

    So according to Mr.Ford we just change the Triple Crown!!!!!! And what about the horses who accomplished this amazing feat. Maybe Mr.Ford we need to change the BREED of horses of 2012 and beyond. Throw tradition out the door and just start fresh!!!! Sounds like a cop out to me. Tradition is basically on thing left in horse racing and I say lets stick to tradition and maybe soon rather than late we will crown another TRIPLE CROWN horse which we probably would have done in I”ll Have Another.

  • Bryan Langlois (ShelterDoc)

    John, I think of the best things that promoted that very thing of running horses at 4 and 5 instead of retiring was the now long defunct ACRS (American Chamionship Racing Series).  It showed what could be accomplished when racetracks actually tried to work together for the good of the sport and promoting the horses.  Most horses did not dance every dance, but it did create races that older horses pointed for.  Oh if only the tracks could do that again, and get over themselves.  Have each of 10 tracks put up 1 million dollars to the final pot at the end of the series.  Have those tracks all across the country and races spaced accordingly for most horses to make most races.  Have the winner of the series get 70% of the jackpot, 20% to the second place finisher and 10% to the 3rd place finisher.  Make it a points system like there was before.  Have NBC sign on to cover every race, and promote it properly.  Is that too much to ask?  I know some will still jet over to Dubai, but maybe some will stay here knowing that most US horses don’t do well in Dubai and they take forever to recover.  Maybe have a similar series for the fillies with a total pot of 7 million distributed the same way.  You could have both series culminate in the Breeders Cup.  Seems simple enough doesn’t it??  Too bad politics and egos will always get in the way of common sense…

  • James Staples

    throw d wayne n there with with him…wonder how he gets that BIG HEAD n his car???…

  • James Staples

    a ton of owners would leave “THE GAME”…the jockey club will NEVER go for AI in our life time…BOOK IT!!!…

  • James Staples

    been that way to damn long…CHANGE is come n for the BETTER…& its right around the old corner…stay tuned!!!…ty…

  • Jimculpepper

    Be glad this Ford guy is not a murder dectective. Yikes!

  • Downer

    WRONG. This whole thing is WRONG. It’s not the spacing between races!!! If they changed it then every triple crown winner after the change needs A BIG FAT ASTERICK!!!  That is one reason the Triple Crown is so hard. The triple crown is not the supposed to be easy!!! People like this guy need to get their facts straight as well. Holy crap. 

  • May Flower

    “I do worry so much about the “superstars”.”
    Freudian slip? If Giant Ryan was a gelding he would have been euthanized yesterday afternoon.

  • May Flower

     The TC is doing its job. The industry is not because it ignores the red flags.

  • http://www.facebook.com/bobbymac76 Bobby McMeans

    Thank you Bryan. As a former sportswriter myself, I am very disappointed at what gets printed nowadays. What does Giant Ryan have to do with the Triple Crown? If anything he speaks for the longevity of racehorses, still competing at the upper level at age 6.

    The Triple Crown is supposed to be hard! You are right sir! That’s what I keep saying year after year! How do we know that IHA didn’t torque that tendon after moving to his new stall in the detention barn? A lot of commotion there. We don’t but that sure seems more reasonable than saying we should artificially inseminate Thoro’breds so they’ll race longer.

    This guy was all over the place and thanks for responding with intelligence Bryan. It was refreshing.

  • BenKMcFadden

    The Triple Crown is a media event to attract the general public.  It is a great series of races, but to the vast majority of horsemen with quality horses, 3yo and otherwise it is does not carry the significance afforded it by the media.  A stallion prospect that can consistently win or place in a BC race and multiple graded stakes at 2, 3, and even four probably has more market value than a 2 of 3, or even a 3 of 3 winner who retires after the Belmont.  If Union Rags or another 3yo old does the former  he will be in demand for his pedigree, talent, and soundness. 

    Of the last three TC winners only Seattle Slew was a success as a sire of runners and of sires.  Secretariat was a great broodmare sire, but his only top runner was General Assembly who was insignificant as a stallion.  Affirmed produced Affirmed Success, end of story.

    If the racing industry wanted to recreate itself, it does not need to change the TC.  It can create another series of top races and promote them under a newly minted, hyper-marketed banner.  The BC series is an effort in that direction, but it needs to be combined with other important races.  The Travers is a thought, but so is the Haskell, and other races that don’t currently exist, or do but have not been sufficiently promoted.  Other sports redefine their championships, why can’t horse racing do the same? How about a 3 and up major, which would really distinguish a 3yo winner. A new series doesn’t have to be over a five week period, and it doesn’t have to be limited to just 3yos for later races.  Want to improve the breed?  Dangle an attractive enough carrot to attract to horses past June and past their 3yo year.  Want to move the Triple Crown later in the year?  No, establish three or four later races with purses big enough to attract attention and promote the heck out of them!

    A.P. Indy missed the Derby, but he did okay for himself, his owners, and the breed.  The public didn’t know who he was, but horsemen lined up for his arrival at Lane’s End.  It is industry oversight that he is not a household name then or now.  Would you rather breed a mare to a Belmont, Travers, BC Classic winner or a Triple Crown or two of three and done stallion?  A.P. Indy or Affirmed?  Smarty Jones or Tiznow? 

    We have seen the enemy and he is us. – Pogo

  • Joy Aten

    Regarding the statement, “It’s hard to take this story seriously when he is making a case for the health of 3 year olds but yet cites an injury to a 6 year old”, I do agree that the injury Giant Ryan suffered does not directly relate to Mr. Ford’s argument regarding the youngsters competing in the TC races. That being said, he could have mentioned just several names that would have better backed his claim. Every year we see the 3-year-old TC hopefuls fall by the wayside before, during, and after the series. And having watched the Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont since the mighty Secretariat took the crown, it seems the number of the fallen has alarmingly increased. Without rehashing the numerous possible reasons for this, I would simply like to list some names. The names include those that were hopefuls for the TC but injury forced them to the sidelines, those that were injured during a TC race, those whose injuries pressed them into retirement, and even those whose injuries meant death. These are only several, gleaned from some notes I’ve kept over the years…and I am convinced the racing fans here could add a name or two of those you have remembered, as I have not even included ANY from the 2012 trail.
     
    Desert Party, Dunkirk, Friesan Fire, Old Fashioned, I Want Revenge, Pioneerof The Nile, The Pamplemousse, Terrain, Barbaro, American Lion, Winslow Homer, Drosselmeyer, Eight Belles, Animal Kingdom, ArchArchArch, Nehro, To Honor and Serve, Dialed In, The Factor, Toby’s Corner, Tapizar.

    So although Mr. Ford’s choosing of the wonderful Giant Ryan as a case for the still maturing 3-year-olds doesn’t seem quite right, the man has a point and it must be considered for the welfare of racing’s athletes.
     

  • Barbara

    Who are Lady’s Secret and Risen Star?

  • Eugene Levey

    THIS GUY FORD WOULD NOT KNOW HORSES IF HE SLEPT IN BED WITH THEM..

    ALL THESE YOUNG GUYS THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING…I EMAILED THE WHACO & TOLD HIM TO STICK WITH THOSE OTHER THINGS & FORGET ABOUT HORSE RACING

    I STILL CANT BELIEVE THAT HE WROTE THAT JUNK…HE MADE A FOOL OF HIMSELF

  • Staci

    LOVE this reply to his letter:
    Totally disagree, you show me ANY athelete of ANY age that trains and doesnt get injured at some point or another…should we ban little league baseball because kids are hurting shoulders, knees, ankles etc? Whats the diffrence of kids competing in soccer, softball, hockey tournaments where they play 2,3, 4 or more games a day, 2 or 3 days in a row? Why are they not banned? Yes there is some things that need changed in horse racing but the Triple Crown is NOT one of them, I’ll have Another got a minor injury, sad yes tragic no. Athletes get hurt or sore that’s what happens, you show me someone who trains competes & doesnt ever get hurt or sore and I’ll call that person superman!

  • ktq1

    Body structure has changed dramatically.  Many TB’s of today are built like Quarter Horses. 

  • Twilight Tear

     Many Thoroughbreds that look like Quarter Horses are on steroids dahlink.
    Notice that certain super Trainers have barns full of “look alike” body types?? A lot of them wear white bridles…..

  • Upstart

    “Stallions and mares alike have to pass rigorous tests before they’re certified for breeding, and the book per stallion is limited.” 

    You are NOT talking about the AQHA.

  • Downer

    I agree with that. I think if there are major issues the industry needs to acknowledge and try to correct it, which they don’t always do. However, the Triple Crown should not be changed. They’ve been doing this for over 100 years. It’s supposed to be a challenge. If there were horses dying every year there would be an issue. Injuries happen to athletes, and these horses are DEFINATELY athletes. 

  • Bret Battaglia

     The writer is a “casual” fan (actually not much of a fan, at least not after Saturday) who went to the Belmont and made an observation. Giant Ryan’s breakdown isn’t evidence, it’s what he saw as a “casual” non-fan two hours before watching a Belmont Stakes without a horse that was probably the only reason the paper sent him there in the first place. Giant Ryan is(was?) a horse that a casual fan could continue being a fan of, (the New York bred who went to Dubai and Shocked the racing world etc…)  It’s about perception.  Luckily this race wasn’t on NBC, the back-story wouldn’t have even mattered, a horse would’ve broke down on national tv…end of sport…? 

    Sadly, I think he proves his point well.  I wouldn’t consider myself a casual fan.  I’m not a vet or a trainer, I don’t know exactly how tough it is on a horse to do what they do.  Sometimes to me it seems like they are doing too much. 

    If the Industry claims to love the horse, then why ask them to do something so incredibly hard to be considered a champion? I agree, it’s not supposed to be easy, but if you take I’ll Have Another out of the picture completely what do you have? Would Baffert had run Bodemeister in the Belmont? We know what his gut says now, no, I prefer to rest my horse, besides I got a horse named Paynter that’s gonna win anyway…

    I don’t see any reason why Bodemeister and I’ll Have Another shouldn’t both be considered great horses the same way that Affirmed and Alydar were.  No they aren’t as proven, but it doesn’t take as much to prove greatness anymore.  Neither of them were champions as a two year old, (Bodemeister unraced even) but when it was time for the triple crown, they were there.  And with Union Rags actually winning the Belmont, you have another “almost” great horse who, had he beat Hansen, would have been the two year champion coming back to potentially spoil it all.

    Yes I would pay money to see this movie.

    No I wouldn’t care if the triple crown was spaced differently.

    How big of a travesty would it be if there were 3 weeks between the Derby and Preakness, then 4 weeks till the Belmont?  Which idea is really more absurd? 

    p.s. Please tell me if this is a crazy idea, If so it may trouble you to know that I got me some downright soap opera scandalous ideas runnin round in my head.<—joke

  • Really???

    Most of these horses are only cared about while they’re on the tracks,  and not given the time of day when they’re not.   They’re bred just for this sport.    So sad.

  • tom hewitt

    There you have it.  Nonsense printed in the paper.  Why should we believe anything else they publish?

  • Justswitchsurfaces

    Go For Wand, Summer Squall, Barbaro, Eight Belles, all broke down on
    ‘sealed’ dirt tracks….why don’t we get a clue and change our track maintenance
    practices on dirt surfaces?  That should be priority.  From Florida, to Kentucky, to New York and out to California, it seems we are all trying to see you can run the fastest splits.  I say run ALL the Triple Crown races on the turf!  Then no one could ever question the true talent of the next Triple Crown winner because that horse would certainly be a monster!

  • Bryan Langlois (ShelterDoc)

    You raise a very good and valid point on the “casual fan” aspect of things, and I think a lot of people agree that this is where racing fails the most in publicity and education about the sport. 

  • Ben K Mcfadden

     I stand corrected, significant oversights which still barely elevates Secretariat as as sire of runners.  Sire of sires I still think he remains an oafer.  Risen Star great runner; flop at stud.  Lady’s Secret, great runner, flop as broodmare.

    My point still stands.  Secretariat and Affirmed never brought their game off of the racetrack. The Triple Crown is overrated relative to its lack of long term impact on the breed.

  • breeze10

    This guy is a WHACKO who never researches before he prints.  After a recent article posted June 7th I was very tempted to contact the Inquirer based in Phila.  Since I am from the Phila. suburbs I guess I will now HAVE TO contact them.  They need to muzzle this guy, or, better yet…send him to the unemployment lines!  In reference to the June 7 article he states: 1) “during what should have been an upbeat interim between the Preakness and Belmont, one of O’Neill’s horses in Calif. was found to have had an elevated level of carbon dioxide that indicated it had been given a “milkshake”…….”  2)”O’Neill has sworn on the heads of his children that he has never “milk-shaked” a horse. The facts in evidence and the CHRB argue otherwise” 3) “O’Neill has more smudges than most trainers and that his reputation has been earned to a large extent by his own actions in seeking the shortest route to the wire”  JUST WHAT KIND OF B.S. IS THIS???  First…the horse mentioned, Argenta, was found to have a slightly higher level of TCO2 in 2010!!! Secondly, California racing officials “determined that O’Neill’s runner ‘had not been milkshaked and there was no evidence of any intentional acts on the part of O’Neill”.  Yet, uninformed/ignorant and arrogant members of the media continue to cite this case as Exhibit A to prove that O’Neill’s presence was a blight on the Triple Crown.  We all are aware of the hammering which occurred between the Preakness and Belmont.  Now, Ford “starts” on this..confusing 6 year olds with 3 year olds.  I think it could be fairly easy to surmise this is a person who is very negative in regards to horseracing and is on a “witch-hunt” to attempt to ruin anyone involved in racing.  Ford stated in his June 7 article that O’Neill “has more smudges than most trainers”!  He needs to check the facts !  Some major-name trainers as of 2010 have had upward to 4,562 violations!  And, as reported recently by DRF..”According to the Assoc.of Racing Commissioners International database, O’Neill has been fined 9 times since 1997 for horses exceeding the regulatory threshold level of LEGAL THERAPEUTIC MEDICATIONS, none of which is considered to have a high potential to affect performance.  His other violations have been for things such as NOT HAVING A HORSE’S FOAL PAPERS ON FILE WHEN IT WAS ENTERED IN A RACE, NOT REPORTING THAT A HORSE WAS GELDED AND PARKING INCORRECTLY ON A TRACK BACKSIDE”!….Now, to Ford and all the other misinformed henchman…..put that in your pipe and SMOKE IT!!!!(Maybe…you’ll become enlightened!)

  • breeze10

    It seems fair to assume we should not believe them! HA! The Phila. Inquirer went out of business  once….I guess their “new identity” is working on the same, AGAIN! Leave it to Ford ! He’ll hasten their demise!

  • breeze10

    And what is your source of information  ?  I hope you are not another “Ford”!

  • breeze10

    AMEN !!!!!!

  • Tsford1975

    Secretariat may not have been a sire of sire but without him there is no A.P. Indy–Storm Cat–Gone West–Benardini….his influence on breeding will last for generations and to call him a flop belittles a very complicated issue.  I will also mention that although not a good sire Tinner’s Way could run a little to.

  • Bristling

    Lady Secret was absolutely GREAT and was HOY and Risen Star had a troubled trip in the derby, which he should have won. Everyone wanted Big Red to dublicate himself which was impossible.

  • breeze10
  • Ben K McFadden

    I think you may have missed my point. I acknowledged Secretariat as a GREAT broodmare sire. His value at stud, however, is judged (right or wrong) in two to three years. By the time a stallion is a broodmare sire many are done because it can take 8, 10 years or more. Storm Cat 10 yrs after Big Red won the TC; Gone West 11; A.P. Indy 16, Berni 20.

    Recent GREAT sires Storm Cat, Danzig, A.P. Indy all illustrate my point that the TC is overrated. Storm Cat was also a great broodmare sire, but that was not the primary reason people bred to him, especially the in his first decade. (If he didn’t produce runners he never would have received the quality of mares he did and his tenure would have been short.) Owners breed for racehorses, not for broodmares that may produce one in ten years. That would exceed even the most optimistic owner’s expectations and planning. Good broodmares are an unforeseeable reward.

    History validates your point regarding the impact on the thoroughbred lines. The marketplace and the goal of profit and/or a good racehorse in return for a stud fee makes mine. For the latter, the TC is less than relevant whether its one race or three. We were offered a foal share to Smarty Jones in his first or second year (I could look it up) and turned it down because, his TC performance notwithstanding. we thought there were better opportunities. It happens there were; we got lucky. We breed based on pedigree, conformation, soundness, and progeny (if any), not TC performance.

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